A. The General Government

The XCG effected a small revolution in the way the General Government carried out its service by making two proposals: allotting a greater role to the Continental Councilors; establishing a Secretariat for the Missions. From the very beginning it was our task to carry out as best we could the guidelines established by the Chapter while recognizing that the Chapter had given us leeway to practice discernment.
Our first act was to establish a Secretariat for the Missions and assign two confrères to this office. From the earliest stages of planning they were of great assistance to the General Government in our efforts to discover how best to make Chapter directives a reality without shortchanging any sector. They helped us provide the Congregation with better leadership. We began with a detailed analysis of the Acts of the XCG along with the requests and proposals the Chapter had passed on to the General Government. We then analyzed the role of the Continental Councilors and their relationship with the Secretariat. With what we garnered from these studies we were able to begin the “Programmazione della Direzione Generale 1999-2005 [General Government Planning 1999-2005]”. We devoted a great deal of time to this task.
The “Planning” was divided into four sections that examined:
- The service of the General Government: practical suggestions for the work of the General Council and its individual components; analysis of the work of Continental Councilors; incorporation of the Chapter suggestions on visitations; concrete suggestions for our publications.
- The Secretariat for the Missions and other General Offices: definition of goals and operating guidelines. Some traditional general offices were incorporated into the Secretariat along with other more recent offices; all these office maintained their specific purpose and were called “sectors” (permanent formation, mission and vocation promotion, initial evangelization and pastoral work, justice and peace, Consolata Lay Missionaries).
- Missionary Renewal: this expression refers to the spiritual and charismatic leadership the Directorate must provide the Congregation. We then determined specific areas of concern, themes to be considered, how we should collaborate with the Consolata Sisters.
- Organization: determining the specifics of the General Government’s role in the General House Group, in the establishment of new foundations and the assignment of personnel.
We also decided that each member of the General Government should attend the Regional Conferences which the Chapter suggested be celebrated about one year after the Chapter concluded. This was a rewarding experience for all of us but especially for those of us making contact with a given Region for the first time. It provided an occasion to become acquainted with new areas and situations and to compare our plans to those the Regions were preparing to make.

1. The General Council

The General Council held three long council meetings each year in March, June and November. There was almost perfect attendance at these meetings which usually lasted four or five weeks. During the remaining months of the year there were other meetings for urgent matter even when all the members could not be present. For certain more important matters – admissions or approval of perpetual professions – all the members were required to attend. We would note here that e-mail has made it possible for every member (even if absent) to express his opinion when we made decisions.
A new item on the agenda during our long Council Meetings was updates on the situation in each Region. We were assisted in preparing these updates by Regional visitations, reports from Continental Councilors, minutes from Region meetings, correspondence (ordinary and especially e-mail).
We tried to make it the norm that correspondence with Region Directorates would normally be the responsibility of the Continental Councilor; in special cases other members of the Council could perform this task if both agree. This practice has not yet become the norm; occasionally there may have been duplication of efforts or irregularity in our correspondence. All personal correspondence with individual missionaries is exempt from this practice.

2. Continental Councilors

The XCG decreed that “General Councilors, except the Vice-Superior General, are charged by the Superior General and his Council with responsibility for a particular continent. Their principal task is to promote and organize continent-wide or inter-Regional projects in the various areas of life and missionary work in accord with Region Superiors” (88-89). It was further established that Continental Councilors would be exempted from the direction of General Offices – except for the General Office of Basic Formation and Study. The Chapter required these Councilors to spend prolonged periods of time in their respective continent and that they prepare annual work plans in meetings with local Region Superiors.
The General Government’s Planning should conform as much as possible to the Chapter’s guidelines. The Councilor for Europe was entrusted with directing the General Office of Basic Formation and Study; the Councilors for Africa and America were freed from any other responsibility.
Councilors for Africa and America had no problem laying out their plans since those two continents have clearly delineated features. Both these continents – and especially America – have already been holding regular meetings of Regional Governments and those responsible for other specific areas (mission/vocation promotion, formation, justice and peace).
Europe found it more difficult to establish a plan that would have a positive impact on each of the Regions. Finally, and especially since the centenary celebrations, European Regions managed to launch positive initiatives to support mission/vocation promotion, lay missionaries and justice/peace concerns. These projects were coordinated by the Continental Councilor. Another subject that was discussed at length on a European level was the possible establishment of a mission/vocation promotion center on the continent.
In the past the Korean Delegation concentrated on finding support in Europe for its work. At the beginning of this six-year term we discussed the possibility of including the Korean Delegation in the European Continent – but this would present no obvious advantage. Geographic proximity and the many common problems they share in the area of evangelization and mission/vocation promotion should create a natural affinity between our recent foundation in Mongolia and the Korean Delegation. Certain permanent formation projects have already been launched that should be of benefit for both. The General Government is continuing to send one of its members to visit these confrères each year; the visitor can help in retreats, important discussions and planning.
We will now list the principal activities Continental Councilors have performed or promoted with the help of the Mission Secretariat; for a more detailed report of their activities we refer you to the reports of the individual Councilors.
- Becoming acquainted with the situation on the continent: Councilors attened almost all the Regional conferences in their area of responsibility – this was the principal means for getting to know local circumstances. Each Councilor made an effort to gather detailed information and other material that would help him understand the situation in each Region. He then shared this information with the other members of the General Council during regular Council meetings.
- Presence on the continent: each Councilor visited the Regions for which he was responsible almost every year. The Councilors for Africa and America reckon they have spent between five and six months a year in their respective continents.
- Exchange of information between the Continental Councilor and the Region Directorate intensified as activity increased. Principally these communications were regarding personnel replacement, planned continental formation projects, special emergency situations and General Government decisions.
- Continental meetings of Regional Superiors were held regularly every year. Their purpose was “to study and promote projects on a continental or inter-Regional level in the various areas of life and missionary work (XCG 89).” These meetings made possible an exchange of information on Regional planning, emerging problems and discussion of specific subjects with the General Government.
- Continental sector meetings: many special sector meetings were held (mission/vocation promotion, Justice and Peace, pastoral work, formation). Altogether some 18 such meetings were held in the last six years. Meetings regarding the first three areas were held jointly with the Consolata Sisters and were addressed primarily to those with Regional responsibility. Participants in these meetings judged them generally positive. It is now up to the Regional Superiors to determine how much of an impact these meetings had on the missionaries in their own Regions.
- Participation in canonical visitations: the Continental Councilors always assisted the Superior General or Vice-Superior General in canonical visitations to the Regions of their respective continents. Besides helping the visitors in their work the Councilor had a chance to gain a better understanding of local situations and engage in dialogue with local confrères.
- Other activities performed by the Continental Councilors: retreats, permanent formation meetings for local superiors, participation in Regional assemblies, participation in ecclesial assemblies, visits to local communities with the Regional Superior.
We believe this experience was on the whole positive. We mentioned earlier the “revolution” this brought about in the traditional way the General Government operated. Undoubtedly the commitment of the Continental Councilors to perform their service to the best of their ability and the warmth of the welcome extended by the Regions guaranteed the success of this experiment. We believe, however, that six years are not sufficient to make a definitive judgment. Both the Regions and the General Government came up against obstacles that can be corrected in the future. We believe that a spirit of “continental solidarity/sensitivity” has evolved in all the Regions. Each Region profited from others’ experience and improved its own missionary service as a result. The Regions were able to launch formation projects that would have been impossible if they had acted individually. Finally we believe that the new foundation in Mongolia warrants a Continental Councilor for Asia in the future.
We do not deny that some elements could be improved in the future: information must be exchanged with greater regularity and punctuality between Regions and the Continental Councilor; the Continental Councilor must become the natural spokesman for his Continent in the General Council; we must improve the Secretariat’s relationship with each Councilor and devise more reliable and rapid channels of information between the Councilor and the General Council (and vice versa).

3. Canonical Visitation to the Regions

The General Government certainly approves the XCG guideline allowing the Vice-Superior General to carry out canonical visitations. We believe there were two principal advantages to this arrangement: the burden of visitation was equally divided between the Superior General and the Vice-Superior General; the difference of viewpoints has enriched the General Council and guarantees a more objective evaluation of the situation in various Regions. Practically speaking there are four years of visitation in a six-year period. The fact that the Vice-Superior General is sharing responsibility for visitations precludes the danger of turning visitation into the whirlwind event it has been in the past.
In obedience to the Chapter’s mandate the Superior General went to those Regions where he had not conducted visitation so that each confrère would have a chance to meet and talk to him.
Since all the Regions explicitly expressed their preference for the traditional form of visitation no new experiments were attempted in this area. The tradition form includes reports from the Regional Government, the Regional Offices and the individual communities. The visitors begin by meeting with the Region Directorate to determine the principal problems to be found in the Region. The visitors (preferably accompanied by the Regional Superior) visit each community and meet personally with individual missionaries; afterwards they meet with the whole community to express their judgment and make constructive suggestions especially with regard to common life. The canonical visitation concludes with the general assembly – or with area assemblies – during which the visitors’ report is read. This report expresses an over-all evaluation of the local situation; makes suggestions for improvement in problem areas and proposed remedies for shortcomings. Once the report is approved by the General Council it is published in the Official IMC Bulletin.
In all the visitations we were received with warmth and fraternal hospitality by Superiors, Regional Councils, individual communities and confrères. We sometimes felt that too much was expected from a visitation; almost as if the visitation could solve all problems and find solutions to every difficulty with the wave of a magic wand. We are convinced that a properly prepared visitation can be of great benefit to a Region. This benefit derives not so much from what the visitors can accomplish but rather because a visitation constitutes a special time for reflection, review of life and bringing hitherto hidden problems to the surface. It enables those involved to renew hope in the life and work plans devised by the Regional Conferences.
Finally we would point out that a Continental Councilor or some other member of the General Government has been present in each Region annually for one reason or another. Each contact made it possible to acquire more information about problems or special situations. We can safely say that the number of visits has not fallen short. We are confident that these visits have been of help to missionaries and Region Directorates.

4. Publications

Five publications continue to be produced and supported by the General Government:
- Bollettino IMC: [IMC Bulletin] is published in four languages at three-month intervals. It is under the direction of the Secretary General. Besides the official acts of the General Council it includes formation material and news. It also includes brief profiles of our dead confrères. The Bulletin in its current format is in its twelfth year of existence. Translation represents a discreet financial burden but we believe it necessary to make our documents available to everyone.
- Documentazione IMC [IMC Documentation]: this periodical appears semi-annually and is the responsibility of the Mission Secretariat. Our own confrères work on the translations. This periodical gathers and distributes material presented in continental / Congregation assemblies or formation events and the thoughts of individual confrères. It provides an aid to missionaries who study specific mission subjects, spirituality or ongoing formation.
- Da Casa Madre: Because of its news contents and attractive appearance it is undoubtedly the most read of our publications. Unfortunately the language presents a problem for many of our younger confrères. More than once the General Government discussed the possibility (especially in the case of Da Casa Madre) of confining publication to the Congregation’s website. This would reduce expense by 90%. We do not believe the time is yet ripe for such a change. There are various reasons for this: in some countries there are problems gaining access to the world-wide web; often copies of this periodical are passed on to friends and relatives.
- Giuseppe Allamano – dalla Consolata al mondo [Giuseppe Allamano – from the Consolata to the world]; this periodical is managed by the Office of Postulation and is distributed as a semi-annual insert with the magazine Missioni Consolata. It is an additional expense but it reaches a very large public.
- www.consolata.org is our official website and is administered by the Secretariat. There have been serious efforts in the last year to update the site making it more modern, rich and user-friendly. A good deal of credit for these efforts is due to the Secretariat and its technical team. The basic version of the site is in Italian. We hope to provide an English version soon – and then Spanish and Portuguese versions. The impact this sort of site can have on so many potential readers makes us believe we must assign someone specifically to this task. This is the only way to manage the site seriously and play an important role in the formation of missionaries and mission promotion.

B. General Offices

With the establishment of Continental Councilors and the Mission Secretariat, the traditional style of General Office work as described in the General Directory underwent a profound change. The Office for Pastoral Work, the Mission / Vocation Promotion Office, the Permanent Formation and the Justice and peace Sectors, the Lay Missionary Coordination all passed under the aegis of the Mission Secretariat. But all of these Offices and Sectors have enjoyed the continuing interest of General Council members – especially the Continental Councilors. As recommended by the IXCG (Ninth General Chapter) the Brothers’ Office was incorporated into corresponding areas of the other Offices and Sectors (without neglecting the specific “Brother” aspect). We believe that the coordination of lay missionaries should be more clearly defined at the level of the General Government. The Office for the Coordination of Hospitals was terminated during the past six years.

1. General Office for basic formation and studies

Statistics:

The total number of seminaries and formation communities is 28 at present. Fourteen are in Africa, nine in America, four in Europe and one in Korea. The number of novices and professed students can be found in the following table. The count is taken on January 31 each year (cf. Annuario IMC):

Year Novitiate Theology Total
2000 33 136 169
2001 21 112 133
2002 30 89 119
2003 33 95 128
2004 37 97 134
2005 37 114 151
The situation of some Regions (the number of pre-novitiate candidates is so low that it is impossible to constitute a community) continues to raise questions. Often in situations of this sort formation is short-changed. We have urged these Regions to join forces with neighbors who have more students wherever possible. But it remains true that the first phase of formation (pre-novitiate) should take in one’s native country.

Lights and shadows in our basic formation:

Given the complexity of this subject (formation) and the limited space at our disposal in this report we have chosen to concentrate on the problems (shadows) we perceive in our basic formation. Certainly everything is not shadows! On the contrary we admire the commitment and efforts of so many young people to achieve the level of development our Blessed Founder hoped for. We feel an enormous debt of gratitude towards those of our confrères who have given their very best to train future generations of missionaries in the spirit and life-style of our Congregation.
Seminarians: the number of students has remained more or less constant in the various phases of formation. The Office has urged vocation directors to exercise greater discernment in accepting applications. Our students want to be Consolata Missionaries; they love our Founder and our Congregation and they believe in our mission. Normally they dedicate themselves to school work and strive for to get good grades. We must help them though to acquire a taste for reading and study; they should not be happy with just passing exams. They are open and receptive to formation even if many need help from formation personnel to make up for their weaknesses and shortcomings.

Young people who knock on our door: the most common problems afflicting young men in our seminaries derive from personal psychology and the dynamics of so many families today. Psychological and affective weaknesses abound and are generally the result of the environment in which young people live today. Nowadays a “healthy family background” is an exception for so many of our students. The choice of a vocation and the discernment that involves are often done at a relatively adult age. More often than not those making the choice have suffered negative or traumatic experiences. They have little cultural identity. These drawbacks are less prevalent in some countries but in this area too “globalization” is having its effect.
On the vocational and religious level we note an immaturity of faith and motivation among those who enter the seminary. Many young people seem to be looking for “social status” as a missionary rather than responding to a call to consecration. The families and Christian communities from which they come seem to have had little impact upon them. More than once we have noted that requests to enter our Congregation from young men in diocesan seminaries or other religious congregations do not receive the scrutiny they deserve from formation personnel and vocation directors. As a result problems frequently arise in later stages of formation.

Departure of temporary professed students: the number of these defections is still very high. From 1992 to 2004 it has been 35% and in the last five years this has risen to 42%. More often than not the decision to leave is the result of prolonged consultation between the student and his mentor. It is rare that a student makes this decision entirely on his own. We have noted that students with enormous problems are often passed from one stage of formation to another without any serious discernment being exercised. The General Government was not always able to intervene – and when it has it was always a case of admission to perpetual profession. The main reasons for these defections are: little vocation motivation, weak spirituality, sexual and affective immaturity, lack of honesty and openness, extreme individualism, lack of a missionary spirit.

Too easy admission: the current shortage of vocations might cause vocation directors to overlook the requirements our documents insist are necessary for admitting a young man to our formation communities. The lack of conscientious and serious discernment when a candidate is admitted to the seminary can be the cause of many later problems in formation.
The readiness of a candidate in basic formation to pass from one stage to another is not solely determined by his completion of the academic curriculum. If a young man has not achieved the goals of a particular stage of formation he cannot and should not be passed on to the next simply because he has the necessary academic requirements. The automatic passage from one stage of the formation process to another could be one of the shortcomings for a formation community or the Regional council responsible for admissions. It would be a good idea for new Region Directorates (at the time they take office) to acquaint themselves with the norms governing the formation process and the criteria necessary for admission to religious profession or Holy Orders.

Regional Formation Directory: the last General Chapter requested that Regional formation directories be prepared. With the assistance of formation personnel, vocation directors and the Regional Government several Regions have prepared such directories. These directories undoubtedly clarify and specify a Region’s goals in this very delicate and important area. Some Regions have not managed to complete a directory. The General Government intervened in some instance to point out inconsistencies or lacunae.

Full-time Formation Personnel number thirty-six. Several other confrères collaborate in one way or another with our formation centers. In the last six years some seventy-five individuals have been assigned to formation work. Of these 43 were working in this area for the first time. Six have been working in formation for more than six years. From these numbers one of our weaknesses is immediately obvious: there is a lack of stability in this area. There are several reasons for this excessive turnaround: those involved feel they are unprepared; they suffer fatigue in this admittedly problematic and monotonous work; they would much rather be engaged in pastoral work. Both the Region and the General Governments realize that they must at times assign less-than-ideal individuals to formation work. There are complaints about a lack of communication between formation personnel and Region Directorates and little support from other confrères.

Academic studies: the last Chapter recommended that theology students – if possible – should work for a licentiate. But only a few of the theology schools our students attend offer the licentiate. One of the drawbacks of this situation is that our young missionaries no sooner arrive in the missions than they request permission to work for a licentiate – something they were not awarded when they completed their basic formation. Another problem we face is the excessive concern for getting academic degrees and a consequent disinterest in other areas of personal formation. We believe this subject requires further attention and reflection lest we shortchange the total formation and academic preparation for the missions of our young men.

Pastoral On-The-Job Experience: This was addressed during the last General Chapter but at present our young seem little interested in this subject. They think of it generally as a waste of time or a bothersome intrusion in their studies. If the formation director asks them to do this they think of it as a punishment and of little use in their formation. This attitude is especially prevalent among students who come from so-called “mission countries.” European and some Latin American students think of it as a chance to gain first-hand knowledge of the missions before making a definitive commitment with perpetual profession.

Office Activities

This office has launched a variety of projects during the last six years. To list only the most significant:

- Visiting the seminaries has always been the best way to become directly acquainted with the actual on-the-ground situation of the Congregation’s formation. Our visits occur almost annually and have given the General Councilor an opportunity to engage in dialogue with our students (novices and professed), to meet formation personnel and to hear what the Regional Council and other confrères have to say about formation. The visits also make it possible to work with formation personnel and the Regional Government on any problems that may come up. During the canonical visitation of a given Region there are also visits to the local seminaries although usually in a more cursory fashion.

- The General Formation Council (six formation personnel and two members of the General Council) met several times during the past six years. There were other e-mail contacts between the General Office and the members of the Council. The Council offered the General Office valuable assistance in planning and carrying out the XCG’s recommendations on basic formation.

- Courses and meetings for formation personnel: The General Office provided training (lasting several months) for the 23 newly assigned formation personnel at UPS in Rome or St. Anselm’s in England. These programs have been repeated continually during the last six years.
IMC Meetings for formation personnel have been held on Regional, continental and general levels. The continental and general meetings have been very successful and well attended. They are indispensable occasions for exchanging experiences and mutual growth. They also serve to harmonize formation in the seminaries on different continents.

- Revising the Ratio Formationis: the XCG requested that this be done and it has required a prolonged period of preparation involving formation personnel and many other missionaries. The new edition includes the opinions and experiences of missionaries and rich contributions from the documents of the Church on missions, consecrated life and priestly formation. The new Ratio Formationis will be printed after this present Chapter so that it can include whatever formation guidelines laid out here.

- Communications and aids from the Office: There have been numerous such communiqués and study aids produced by this Office and destined for formation personnel and Region superiors. The specific Office Report will list these publications. Here we would only mention those 19 fiches on formation subjects in a single volume that has proved so helpful to both formation personnel and students.

2. The Mission Secretariat

The XCG established a Mission Secretariat to “oversee the various activities [of the General Offices] and assist the General Government and the Continental Councilors.” We read in the Acts:
“The Mission Secretariat helps the General Government in the work of animation of the Institute, and in the general and continental initiatives. It is entrusted to an équipe of missionaries who dependent directly on the General Council.
The Secretariat, in union with the Continental Councilor and as a special help to him, will study, promote and support the initiatives of formation and updating in all the sectors of the Institute: permanent formation, missionary and vocational promotion, pastoral activities, justice and peace, and lay missionaries.
The General Office of Basic Formation is entrusted to a General Councilor, and maintains its own operative autonomy. Nevertheless, for the implementation of its own initiatives, it can ask for the help of the Secretariat.”
As we mentioned earlier the appointment of two members to the Secretariat at the very beginning of this six-year term facilitated a profitable collaboration with the General Government in determining the purpose and goals of the Secretariat and planning its program. This contact – both formal and casual – between the General Government and the Secretariat continued without interruption and made a commonality of intent and action possible. As time went on contact with Continental Councilors intensified whereas work with the General Government as a whole decreased in intensity. But on some subjects – e.g. Lay Missionaries – there has been frequent contact.
We must not overlook the importance of the work the two members of the Secretariat have done together. While there was no doubt a division of responsibility as time progressed their communication remained very close. The premature replacement of one of the members after only three years was made necessary by a personnel crisis in Korea. Since the two members of the Secretariat were doing work that had been planned previously, the replacement slowed down their collaboration.
Along with the collaboration of the Continental Councilor the Secretariat has always sought the collaboration of our Consolata Sisters in carrying out projects on a continental level. Almost all of these projects were planned and executed jointly. Since the Sisters have no corresponding organism our Secretariat and Councilors handled most of the work involved in organizing these continental activities.
To permit a more precise evaluation of the work we have done over the past six years we would present the following overview. The reports on specific sectors will describe these activities in greater detail.
- organizing and conducting three 3-month on-site courses for young missionaries;
- organizing and conducting two courses for missionaries assigned to new foundations (Mongolia and Djibouti);
- organizing and conducting three courses in Rome for middle-aged missionaries; Father Benedetti conducted one of the courses;
- organizing two short courses for older missionaries; courses were conducted with assistance from Father Pavese;
- in conjunction with the Continental Councilors and the Consolata Sisters organizing and holding several continental meetings in the areas of mission and vocation promotion, justice and peace, evangelization and native pastoral work;
- active participation in several “Roman” organizations: G&PIC, Sedos, AEFJN, Gruppo ad gentes;
- study and editing the Consolata Lay Missionaries’ Statutes; much of this work was done with lay collaboration;
- semi-annual publication of Documentazione IMC; coordinating translations from various Regions;
- study of our method of evangelization and apostolate through Region level meetings.
At this point if we had to answer the question: Is the service performed by the Mission Secretariat really necessary for the General Government? We would have to answer that not only is it necessary but its resources should be increased if we are to continue along the path established by the Continental Councilors:
- the General Government can only carry out extended permanent formation projects with the cooperation of others – such as the members of the Secretariat;
- contact with Roman agencies is important for both consecrated life and the missions; the members of the General Government are frequently absent from Rome and cannot maintain this contact; others whose presence in Rome is more stable are needed;
- the Secretariat is in a position to offer (and has already done this) valuable assistance to the General Government in specific areas: e.g. Consolata Lay Missionaries; creating and maintaining the Consolata website.
From our experience over the past six years we can only hope that in the future:
- members of the Secretariat will become more involved in studying questions and subjects the General Government or the Regions have brought up in the Chapter;
- cultivate more extended exchange of ideas with the General Government on subjects linked to the Secretariat’s activities;
- help members of the Secretariat improve their language skills so that they can become more engaged in the work of the Roman agencies;
- create an editorial pool for all the General Government’s publications;
- continue adding to our already abundant documentation and make the best possible use of this documentation for the various areas of work.

3. General Finances

The General Government expressly requested the General Chapter to examine the Congregation’s financial activities. In this part of our report we will give an overview of the principal activities of the General Office of Administration and examine certain specific financial questions; the use of property in the Congregation; and how we use our resources for the benefit of the missions.
First of all we must express our thanks to Divine Providence which continues to grant us the necessary resources to handle the Congregation’s enormous expenses. Not only has the General Government been able to meet the ordinary (and at times the extraordinary) expenses of its own communities and projects but has been able to distribute considerable assistance to the most needy Regions. Thanks to this assistance these Regions have been able to support their work and formation activity with serenity. The General Administrator can provide details on contributions and accomplishments during the past six years.
The General Administration has three principal sources of income:
- In the first place – benefactors – and especially those who leave us money in their wills. Their assistance is decisive. The benefactors come primarily from Italy although some come from other countries. The fund raising carried out by the Italian Region and our confrères involved in this activity is important. There are reasons to fear that this source of income may one day dry up: many of our benefactors are old; there are ever more charitable organizations seeking donations; mission-consciousness is diminishing nowadays. At present however we have no need to fear.
- Since 2001 the Portuguese Region has been contributing to the General Administration profits made from Hotel Pax and the sale of religious articles in Fatima.
- Investment dividends and interest are the third source of General Administration income. We will discuss this subject later in this report.
Secondly we would assert that finances are not just a technical question. It is intimately linked to our religious consecration and it can have a negative or positive effect on our witness. The last General Chapter urged the General Government to make a special appeal to the whole Congregation that it examines its method for handling property. Was it consonant with the spirit of our Founder? Did it meet the demands of our vow of poverty? Did it give witness to the Kingdom? Did it help us carry out our mission?
In discussing these questions we would like to start with what the XCG had to say.

The Letter “Povertà, economia e missione [Poverty, Finances and the Missions]” is dated October 4, 2002 and was published in the Official Bulletin [BU] January 2003. It was a response to the call of XCG “which believed it necessary to issue a reminder on how to live poverty and on abuses to be found throughout the Congregation (40).” This reminder was based on fundamental principals of consecrated life and the charism of Blessed Allamano. It was an effort to respond to present-day needs and described specific problems a missionary might encounter when he uses the resources Providence gives us in a way that will benefit the poor and the missions. The letter was not intended as an end-point to discussion but rather an incentive to engage the Regions and our confrères in a broader dialogue. As far as we can tell this letter was discussed and critiqued on both the Region and community level. Now we will have a chance to see (from Regional Superiors’ Reports) the letter’s impact and whether it gave rise to “frank, sincere and realistic dialogue on subjects linked to religious poverty.” This is what we had hoped.
The General Government would like to assert once more the importance of this discussion. The Congregation must never descend to the level of a business. It must keep alive the spirit of our Father Founder: he wanted us to trust in Providence, to be frugal and not greedy in our personal and community life, to be alert to the needs of others and ready to share what we have with our confrères.

Solidarity with the poor. Each year the General Government distributes aid to the Regions. This aid has specific goals: evangelization and assistance to the poor. The General Government has not failed to respond to all requests for help in times of disaster, financial catastrophe or extreme need. The Directorate has been especially attentive to the needs of local churches, diocesan religious Congregations (especially those we have established) and projects aimed at making the people of God more sensitive to solidarity, justice and peace. We are convinced that the plight of the poor must be an integral part of our prayer, our leadership of God’s people and how we use mission property. It seems that benefactors nowadays are more aware of the needs of the poor. They expect greater sensitivity and transparency from us.

An economy of sharing in the Congregation. This was one of the principal themes of our letter – Povertà, economia e missione [Poverty, Finances and the Missions]. We are becoming ever more aware of the need to share our possessions. Today the vow of poverty implies a willingness to share what we have with our confrères. On the general level this sharing is guaranteed by our centralized financial administration. However we are only beginning this kind of sharing on the inter-Region level. We can cite a recent example: one Region gave 150,000 Euros to the General Administration for use in the more impoverished Regions. Periodic appeals to the General Government on behalf of one Region or another have been well received – especially during the Congregation’s centenary celebrations. To ensure more effective sharing without jeopardizing the security of any Region the General Government has set certain maximum amounts a Region can keep for itself.
On the Region level the challenge of making a common fund more effective remains. This is a subject Regional Conferences discuss frequently in an effort to improve their norms.

The financial administration of Regions. All of our Regions in the Northern Hemisphere have no trouble being self-supporting. These jurisdictions provide income to support the General Administration and to assist the financially more fragile Regions. Regions in Africa and Latin America are in a precarious situation – although some of them are more or less stable. To strengthen these administrations the General Government a few years ago allotted funds for endowments. There are currently nine such endowments worth a total of 3,600,000 Euros. The Regions involved receive the interest from these endowments but cannot touch the capital. The endowments are administered by the General Administration and are augmented when extra capital is available.
In recent years there have been political and financial upheavals in African and American countries where we are working. To safeguard our capital the General Administration in collaboration with Regional Administrations has avoided accumulating funds in these countries.

Solidarity Fund. The Tenth General Chapter decreed that our “current ‘Solidarity Fund’ should be just that. It should accumulate interest when it is not being used for specific health interventions. In this way it can provide in the future for those Regions (Africa especially) where health insurance is not available” (88). The General Administration has decided to finance all medical expenses for our confrères that exceed $4,000.00 (US).

Assistance to seminaries. The expenses for our seminaries (novitiate and above) continue to represent a considerable burden on our Regional Administrations. Some have suggested that the General Administration assume full responsibility for these expenses. The Inter-Chapter Meeting of 2002 discussed this problem and offered the following guidelines: the current practice for providing assistance will not be changed; Regions responsible for these seminaries should prepare a budget to be presented to the General Administration along with the Regional budget; the General Government should distribute assistance bearing in mind formation expenses; missionaries and students in the Region should be made aware of the need to share in the expenses of formation.

Regional Administrators: Regional Councils have experienced difficulty in finding appropriate individuals to act as Regional treasurers. In the past the job was assigned to those who showed an aptitude for this work. Nowadays it is imperative that individuals receive special training for this work. Some Regions have selected individuals for this work and sent them to study the necessary subjects. The frequently stated guideline that lay people can perform these functions is still valid. This sort of work demands more and more technical expertise – something we cannot expect from our confrères.
The General Administration continues to offer short-term, intensive courses to newly appointed Region administrators. The need for such courses in Rome is recognized by everyone involved.

Principal General Administration real estate transactions in the last six years.
- Sale of our share in the Solatrix Clinic in Rovereto;
- Building the Mozambican Regional House in Maputo;
- Sale of the old Mozambican Regional House in Maputo;
- Purchase of a new site for the Caracas Philosophy Seminary;
- Restructuring the Caracas Delegation House;
- Restructuring the Zaragoza House in Spain;
- Purchase of a new house in Elche (Spain);
- Restructuring CAM in São Paulo (Castelinho);
- Purchase of a headquarters for the Mongolia community;
- Renewal of the heating facility in the General House;
- New anti-fire installation in the archives and library of the General House;
- Sale of land in Portugal (Figueira da Foz) and Brazil (Erexim);
- Sale of the Totteridge Seminary (London);
- Sale of the Washington Seminary (USA);
- Purchase of land and house for vocation/mission promotion and formation in Manaus;
- First assistance for building CAM in Dar-es-Salaam.

Revision of the Financial Directory. In view of the need to reprint this text administrators asked that it be slightly revised to reflect the new situations in the Congregation and the Regions. The changes have already been included and we are only waiting for the Chapter to see if other changes are necessary before printing.

Investment diversification. In the second half of 2000 the General Administration consulted experts and the General Council of Administration and then proceeded to diversify our central investment portfolio. This diversification has consisted primarily in investing in equity funds. While this has not increased our capital investment it has made mid-term and long-term dividends and interest possible. It is precisely this mid-term and long-term investment that will increase our profits. We pay special attention to the ethical considerations of where our money is invested. We hope that our growing capital will help us consolidate funds available to the Regions.

Office of General Administration. Beyond its day-to-day work (there is a full-time accountant involved) this office has engaged in the following activities in the last six years:
- visits to Regional administrations;
- two meetings for Regional Administrators;
- annual meeting of the General Council of Administration;
- periodical meetings with Turin on financial matters;
- visits to the Regions for special considerations (sales, building, audits).

4. The General Secretariat

The General Secretariat depends directly on the General Government. It acts as a liaison between the General Government and the Regions. It communicates the decisions of the General Council to individual missionaries and the Regions. It gathers the material needed by the General Government and Congregation Archives.
It maintains the Congregation’s current archives and solicits missing material from the Regions (e.g. files on confrères who have concluded their basic formation). One serious gap in our archives that must be remedied as soon as possible involves the hand-written last wills and testaments of many of our missionaries.
The General Secretariat publishes the Annuario that contains all the statistics valid on the 31 January each year. The punctuality of this publication depends on the promptness with which Regions send in their data. Together with the Consolata Sisters the Secretariat publishes a list of deceased confrères and sisters. In 2001 in conjunction with the Congregation’s centenary celebrations the Secretariat published the book Missionari Defunti edited by Father Antonio Accoto. The General Secretariat includes:
- The Historical Archives. These archives are managed by the Archivist. He is assisted by one full-time and one part-time secretary. In the last six years all the material of the previous General Government and the documentation sent to the Archives was manually entered. Another important work that has been going on for years is the computerization of the most frequently requested material. Restructuring our rooms is nearing completion – this will improve our fire-preparedness and make better use of the space at our disposal.
- The Registry, collects and updates information on individuals, houses and Regions in the Congregation. Everything is computerized to facilitate consultation and the publication of the Annuario. Those working in the Registry complain about the tardiness with which Regions send in their information. There are significant gaps.
- Historical Archives Library. The library collects all the Congregation’s publications as well as books and articles by our missionaries. The collection already counts almost 700 items. It is worth maintaining and increasing.

5. Historical Office

This office is directed by Father Giampietro Casiraghi with the assistance of Fathers Antonio Bellagamba, Candido Bona, Francesco Pavese and Lino Zamuner. None of these individuals is working full-time. In the last six years we have published the following items in the “Studi e Testi” Series:
- “Quasi una vita …” edit. C. Bona. These are the last three volumes of Blessed Joseph Allamano’s correspondence.
- Lino Zamuner, Quando la missione diventa contemplazione – Mons. Carlo Cavallera, 2001.
- Dispensatori dei misteri della salvezza – Convegno di studio IMC, 2001.
- Luiz Balsan, O carisma do Instituto Missões Consolata na expressão de seu Fundador José Allamano, 2001.
- Diamantino Guapo Antunes, A semente caiu em terra boa, 2003.
- Giuseppe Allamano, Lettere ai Missionari e alle Missionarie, 2004.
The Historical Office has consulted and contributed to the following publications at the Editrice Missionaria Italiana (EMI, Bologna):
Giovanni Tebaldi, La Missione racconta, EMI, 1999. Translated into English, French, Spanish and Portuguese for the Centenary.
Giovanni Tebaldi, La mia vita per la missione, Giuseppe Allamano, EMI, 2001.
Giovanni Tebaldi, Ho amato l’Africa, P. Riccardo Rossi, EMI 2002.
Giovanni Tebaldi, L’ultimo carovaniere, P. Gaudenzio Barlassina, EMI, 2003.
The Office has launched a computerization of Canon Giacomo Camisassa entire correspondence. It is considering doing the same thing with the diaries of our first missionaries and other important texts for the history of our Congregation.

6. Office of Postulation

Since September 13, 2002 there has been a new Postulator: Father Francesco Pavese. Father Gottardo Pasqualetti will continue to promote the cause of the Servant of God, Sister Irene Stefani.
To conclude the Canonization process of our Blessed Founder all we need is a miracle granted through his intercession. The Office is currently examining two miraculous events that took place in Colombia and Italy. The Holy See requires long periods of study (8-10 years). We have published a novena and other study aids and this has increased interest among our confrères in spreading devotion to Blessed Allamano.
In 2003 publication of the periodical “Giuseppe Allamano: dalla Consolata al mondo,” began again. It is now an insert in “Missioni Consolata” which appears every four months. This decision was costly but it now reaches 60,000 readers instead of 8,000. The Inter-Chapter Meeting of 2002 suggested that our non-Italian periodicals could use material from “Giuseppe Allamano” to make the figure and spirit of our Founder better known outside the Italian language area. It seems to us that this suggestion found no response.
Among the published works of Blessed Allamano we would cite:
- completion of the series edited by C. Bona: “Quasi una vita … Lettere scritte e ricevute.” The complete 11-volume series has already been circulated among Religious Congregations and institutions of higher learning in Rome and Turin.
- “Giuseppe Allamano – Lettere ai missionari e alle missionarie,” edited by I. Tublado. 2,000 copies have been printed and distributed in our two Congregations. We are thinking of translating this work into English shortly.
- “Pietre vive per la Missione,” a small pocket-book which has reached a broad public in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. A similar work – produced by the periodical “The Seed” – exists in English.
It is worth mentioning some other projects launched by this office in the last six years:
- In 2001 the remains of Canon G. Camisassa were moved from our Chapel in the Turin Cemetery to the Congregation’s Chapel in the Motherhouse in Turin.
- Preparation and setting up an historical exhibit of our Congregation near the Shrine of Blessed Allamano in the Motherhouse.
- Creation of a new statue of our Blessed Founder in various sizes.
- We studied the possibility of launching three new processes:
• Msgr. Luigi Santa, who died in Rimini in 1953 and is buried in the Cathedral. We have made contact with the Diocese of Rimini but they were not sympathetic to this project so we have filed this effort for the time being. A new biography of Msgr. Santa by A. Montonati was published in 2002.
• Father Bartolomeo Liberini died in 1960 and is buried in Mitucué in Mozambique. After studying the case in situ the General Government has decided to take preliminary steps to initiate a process in the Diocese of Lichinga. The Bishop of Lichinga has responded favorably to our request. He believes that process would be a “grace” not just for our Congregation but for the local Church of Mozambique.
• Father Domenico Viola who died in Buenos Aires in 1990 and is buried in the parish church at Pirané. There is much popular devotion at his tomb and the Postulation has already made a preliminary investigation and believes the situation promising for an eventual process.
We think it would be opportune for the Chapter Assembly to express its opinion on these last two processes.